By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Twenty-seven-year-old Chase N. Ettner yesterday was ordered held on $100,000 bail, accused of intentionally setting fire to his own apartment in downtown Chehalis on Sunday night.
Lawyers say the maintenance man at the building on the 100 block of North Market Boulevard told his wife not long ago, if she ever left him he would burn the place down. Chase and Holly Ettner got into an argument earlier that evening, according to charging documents.
Chehalis police say Ettner apparently was trying to kill himself or possibly even burn up his wife.
The damage was minimal, but residents from five apartments in the 21-unit brick building had to find somewhere else to stay temporarily, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.
Responders found Ettner surrounded by an unruly crowd behind the building, laying on the ground seemingly extremely intoxicated and smelling of gasoline.
“Alcohol appears to be a major problem,” Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead told the court yesterday afternoon.
The defendant appeared “hell bent” on harming himself or others, Halstead said.
Defense attorney Bob Schroeter said it might have been a relapse.
“He has been in treatment for a couple of months,” Schroeter said.
“Because of the intoxication, claims of what he said need to be taken with a large grain of salt,” he added.
Firefighters called just after 9 p.m. found smoke coming from the building, some residents evacuating and at least one person trying to douse the fire, according to responders.
A gas can was found in the Ettner’s first floor apartment; the oven and stove were turned on, police said.
Neither charging documents or police say how Ettner ended up outside or if he was alone in the apartment when the fire started.
Ettner was charged yesterday with one count of first-degree arson, domestic violence. The maximum penalty is life in prison
He told police, according to charging documents, he just wanted to kill himself and he made sure everybody was out before he “torched the place.”
The only injury reported by the fire department was his 32-year-old wife had cuts on her hands from retrieving a fire extinguisher. The fire damage was limited to the couple’s carpet and a wall, the fire department said.
With an income of only approximately $200 a month, Ettner was given a court-appointed attorney. He is scheduled to make his plea on Thursday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter